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Baby K’Tan Review

April 26, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com 8 Comments

When I was pregnant we were given two different baby carriers; the Moby wrap and the Beco gemini. These are both great carriers for different reasons, but when we were planning our trip to Israel when Asher was 2 months old I realized that neither of these were ideal. The moby wrap was too much of a pain to get on and off and didn’t lend itself well to international travel. I didn’t want the tails dragging on the floor and it is a bit too big to fit comfortably in my diaper bag. The gemini is great, but also takes a bit of time to put on and is WAY to big to fit in the diaper bag. So I scoured the internet and discovered the Baby K’tan.

This carrier is AMAZING. Seriously. It functions almost exactly like the moby wrap but without all the wrapping. It is essentially two loops of fabric and a sash. It is the perfect carrier for travel. When Asher wasn’t in it, I wore it around my neck like a scarf and that way it was already on me and ready to go. It took me about 60 seconds tops get him in it and he loved it. It is comfortable and light weight and since it isn’t a ton of fabric it is very compact. It has about 9 different carrying positions, including front facing out, which was a big deal for me. The only down side to this carrier is that it is a sized carrier, meaning that you have to get it in your specific size. This meant that Raf and I couldn’t share it because he is so much bigger than I am, however we solved this problem by agreeing he would carry the diaper bag and I would carry the baby for the duration of the trip. I highly recommend this carrier, in fact it is still my go to carrier just because it’s so small and easy to put on. Asher’s favorite position was the hug hold, but he also really liked being able to face out. I rarely ever used the extra sash that came with it because I didn’t feel it needed it to be secure, but I probably would use it if I were hiking or doing something fairly active.

If you’re planning a trip or just want a baby carrier that is super easy and functional then this is your carrier. Get it here or here (I love amazon).

Here are a few videos by Baby K’Tan to help you get a better idea of how it works:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ThAv6JeVmA]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7COMasHLWw]

*I have not been asked to review or promote this product, but I just loved it so much that I had to share.

A Lesson in Detachment

April 25, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Almost immediately after Asher was born I began to see the world in a very different light. All of a sudden I saw the danger in everything and I was confronted with just how fragile this physical existence is.

Do any of you ever picture escape scenarios if something were to occur to endanger your life? Say for example, I’m driving over a bridge, I have always thought about what I would do to escape the car if the bridge were to collapse. You know, break the glass or roll down the window and swim to safety. In all these envisioned scenarios I can see myself having a chance of surviving and making it to safety, however now that I have a baby I realize that we probably won’t survive because the darn car seat is like a venus fly trap.

Seriously, being a mom has filled my head with morbid thoughts. Every time my child is out of my sight, I imagine everything that could go wrong. I can really understand why some parents become over protective and compulsive about checking on their kids. The reality is, the world can be a big and dangerous place and for the first time I truly understand what people are talking about when they say that ‘to have a child is to live the rest of your life with your heart outside of your body’. I try to balance thinking rationally with listening to my gut while having these DANGER signs flashing before my eyes at every turn. Let me tell you, it’s not always easy to navigate.

In general I try to be a pretty calm mother. I don’t want to be smothering. I want my children to be free to learn about the world they live in, even if that means stumbling and falling sometimes. I want to guide them to be active participants of their surrounds, rather than just mindlessly absorbing everything around them. All of this is really easy to say, but it can be incredibly hard to put into practice. To be a mother means to practice detachment every. single. day.

For Your Reading Pleasure // How to Have the Best Pregnancy Ever

April 24, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com 1 Comment

There is so much information and misinformation circling around out there about what is and isn’t safe during pregnancy and a lot of the time it’s completely contradictory. This can be incredibly confusing and stressful, especially for a pregnant woman who already has enough on her plate to worry about. Tracie Egan Morriseey wrote THIS tongue in cheek article that is absolutely spot on. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t take any one field of thought that you read on the internet too seriously. Your best bet is to speak to a professional directly.

So read this.

Breastfeeding // Thrush

April 23, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com 2 Comments

When many people hear the word “thrush” they either think I’m referring to a bird or they have no idea what I’m talking about at all. The term thrush is commonly used to refer to a yeast infection in the mouth. It is fairly common in breastfed babies but it can also occur in the nipples and breasts of breastfeeding women and can be passed back and forth between the mother and child. It is caused by an overgrowth of the candida fungus. Candida is present in our bodies all the time, but it is normally kept in check by good bacteria that feed on it, however when this bacteria is compromised, say by taking antibiotics for example, it can lead to an overgrowth of yeast. Yeast in the breast is much harder to get rid of than a vaginal yeast infections because the yeast thrive in sugar rich, dark, moist environments. Which brings me to my story.

Remember when I tore while pushing Asher out? Well, as luck would have it, I developed a lovely infection. At my two week postpartum checkup I was told that I had an infection, which meant two things. First, some of my stitches didn’t take and second that I would need to go on antibiotics for 2 weeks. Honestly, I was relieved because it meant that the excruciating pain I had been experiencing was in fact NOT par for the course and that with the use of the antibiotics relief was at last in sight.

HA!

I started to notice that breastfeeding was becoming INCREDIBLY painful and that Asher had developed a fuzzy white patch on his tongue. So, I took him to the pediatrician and I went and saw a lactation consultant and we were told in both cases that we had thrush. This seriously bummed me out, because I knew that thrush could be really difficult to get rid of.

I was put on a two week course of fluconazole and Asher was put on a nystatin rinse. Well, after the two weeks were up, we still had thrush and our treatments had done little to improve the symptoms. So, we were put on a second round of our respective treatments, along with strict instructions to sterilize everything that touched my breasts or his mouth. In addition, I was told that I should stop using a breast pump until the thrush was cleared up. Luckily at this point my milk supply was established and stable so I was able to take a break from pumping. I also rinsed my nipples with a solution of vinegar and water, cut out all sweets, exposed my bare breasts to sunlight (in doors) every day I could and we both went on probiotics all in an attempt to get rid of the nasty thrush.

Well, after all that and completing round two of our treatments, we still had thrush! Luckily, Asher didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact I don’t think he even noticed. I on the other hand was not a happy camper, seeing as that I was saddled with stinging nipples and shooting pains in my breasts. Finally, our lactation consultant recommended that we try gentian violet.

After going on a wild goose chase searching for the stuff, I was finally able to find some at a small independent pharmacy. I applied it once a day to my nipples before nursing and that way we both got treated where we needed it most. We used it for one week and once the purple wore off I noticed that Asher’s white patch was gone and my pain had subsided. Success!

Except within two weeks both symptoms had returned. So, we did another week of gentian violet. This time I applied it to my nipples before and after every feeding as well as directly to Asher’s tongue. This no nonsense approach paid off. After a long fought battle we had conquered our thrush, albeit, after staining many articles of clothing with bright purple splotches.

This and this are is a great resources for anyone considering using gentian violet to treat thrush. I’ll warn you, it is incredibly messy, but it is well worth the relief. I put olive oil around Asher’s mouth to try and cut down on the mess and this helped a lot.

*UPDATE* You can find gentian violet here but I was also told that you can find it at some Targets, although I didn’t see it on their online store. Just make sure you look for a 1% solution, if you can only find a 2% solution that’s fine too but you will need to dilute it yourself.

Asher’s Monthly Growth Series // 4

April 11, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Breastfeeding // How I Increased My Milk Supply

April 3, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com 2 Comments

Somehow during my insanely long labor (probably during the pushing phase) I lost a greater than average amount of blood. It’s a bit of a mystery how or when this happened as there wasn’t any obvious hemorrhaging or anything, nonetheless, it happened. As a result my blood pressure was super low, my pulse was incredibly high and I was very pale. In fact the next morning my dad kept saying that I looked like I was part of the Cullen family. That’s right, my Dad referenced Twilight. Moving on.

Now apart from not being able to stand up and hearing the sound of rain every time I tried, I wasn’t all that affected by the blood lose, but since being able to be upright and conscious is really helpful when you have a newborn my Midwives gave me two blood transfusions. After the first two transfusions they were still concerned with my blood pressure and thought I could have a third but since my symptoms were gone they felt the risk outweighed the benefits. While all this was happening I was pretty delirious since I had literally not slept for 4 nights but I remember them mentioning that the blood loss my delay my milk coming.

Well, delay it, it did.

When Asher had his first pediatrician’s appointment at 3 days old, he was already becoming dehydrated and lethargic, so she put him on a strict feeding schedule (of every two hours from start of feeding to start of feeding) and told me we needed to supplement with formula and that I needed to pump after I nursed to stimulate my milk to come in.

So it looked something like this:

Nurse on left breast: 20 minutes

Nurse on right breast: 20 minutes

Prepare and give Asher a bottle: 10-15 minutes

Pump: 20 minutes

This gave me approximately 45 minutes to sleep, before I had to wake Asher up to repeat the whole process all over again. Needless to say, we were both exhausted. The poor guy would be too tired to nurse, so I’d have to strip him down and place cold objects on his tummy and feet to keep him awake long enough to eat. I don’t have to tell you that this was awful. I was a basket case. Luckily by the time he was 1 week old he had regained and surpassed his birth weight and my milk had come in so we received the all clear to feed on demand and he immediately started sleeping 4 hours straight at night, which felt like 10 hours to me.

For the next few weeks things were going really well milk supply wise. We stopped supplementing with formula and I was able to exclusively breastfeed, which was a huge relief for me. Then my mother in-law came to stay with us and very sweetly infused all my drinking water with mint, which I LOVED while I was pregnant, however for some reason I wasn’t really enjoying it anymore (which should have set off a flag in my mind). I started to notice that my milk supply was decreasing and Asher was hungry ALL the time. I couldn’t understand it, because nothing had changed in my diet or habits, other then the mint water. So I did some research and discovered that peppermint and mint in large quantities will actually reduce your milk supply and are used by a lot of women when they are weaning their babies to help with engorgement. So what did I do? Well, I pumped. A lot.

Milk production is all about supply and demand. The more you nurse and pump the more signals will be sent that your breasts need to produce more milk. It’s really quite simple. I pumped for 10 minutes after every single time I breastfed. This was especially hard during the middle of night feedings, but it was only 10 minutes so I forced myself to be disciplined about it AND I had thrush (more on that later). If I could do it, so can you! Very quickly I began noticing that my supply was increasing. I allowed Asher to nurse for as long as he wanted to, to use my breasts as a pacifier and to fall asleep nursing. Those 3 choices also helped increase my supply. The key is to empty your breasts and then to continue to stimulate them for 10 minutes longer. Babies are far better at stimulating your breasts than even the highest quality pump, so keep that in mind.

I also did 3 other things to help support my milk supply:

1. I drank a TON of water. I have a 20 ounce water bottle and I would drink a whole bottle or more every time I breastfed.

2. I ate a lot. This was hard, because all the water drinking was curbing my appetite, but I just had to stay on top of it. The milk production cookies that my midwives recommended were a huge help in this regard.

3. I took a lot of Fenugreek. I was taking 4 pills, 3 times a day. I reeked of maple syrup, but hey there are worse things to smell like.

I’m happy to report, after much hard work and effort we are exclusively breastfeeding and Asher is gaining weight like a champ!

So that’s what I did and that’s what worked for me. If you’re having milk supply issues I recommend trying these steps but if they don’t work for you, leave me a comment or send me an email and we can trouble shoot together.

Happy nursing!

Postpartum Care Package

March 29, 2013 by lauren.anvari@gmail.com 4 Comments

My cousin had a really long and difficult labor so I decided to put together a little postpartum care package for her to make the transition home a little easier, because let’s be honest, having a newborn is amazing but it can also be pretty challenging.

Here’s what I sent her:

Galactagogue Milk Production Cookies: My midwives gave me this recipe after I had Asher. These cookies aren’t the tastiest things mainly because they’re pretty dry, but they do help support your milk supply, so you can’t argue with that. I listed the recipe at the end of this post.

Always Radiant Incredibly Thin Liners (unscented): Once the heavy postpartum bleeding (lochia) subsides, these liners were incredibly useful in dealing with the lighter stuff. They are SUPER comfortable. Seriously, I didn’t even notice they were there. They also can come in handy if you have a difficult time holding your urine postpartum. CLICK.

Arnicare Arnica Gel: This stuff is amazing! Use it on your nether regions to sooth and promote healing. Seriously, AMAZING. CLICK. You should also be able to find it at Whole Foods.

Hand Lotion: If you’re like me, when you have a newborn you kind of become obsessed with washing your hands, so a good hand cream can prevent dry, cracked skin, especially since dehydration is par for the course when it comes to the postpartum time. All that water you’re guzzling is going straight to your milk supply. Which brings me to…

Dried Fruit: Allow me to introduce you to dehydration’s nasty little friend, constipation. Generally the hospital will recommend that you take Colace and I TOTALLY agree, but it doesn’t hurt to stack the deck with some good old fashioned fiber. Bran muffins are also a good call. I opted to send the dried mango that you can find in the bulk food bins at most Whole Foods, because it’s SO good.

Witch Hazel/Tucks Pads: Helps to reduce swelling and sooth your sore nether regions. Also useful if you got hemorrhoids.

Bath Salts: Every woman deserves some ‘me’ time during the postpartum period that doesn’t just involve sleeping, although that is important too. Nurse your little one and then hand the baby over to dad or any other willing volunteer that you trust and give yourself a nice steamy soak. The hot water will help get the blood flowing, which in turn speeds up healing and a fragrant bath is just far more relaxing and luxurious than your run of the mill sitz bath.

Breastfeeding Bracelet: It’s not always easy to remember what side you need to breastfeed on next, so having a bracelet that you can easily move from side to side is super handy. I opted for chewbeads, because they can double as teethers later on. CLICK. You should always start on the side your baby fed on last, that way you ensure that your baby will drain your breast completely (which can help prevent mastitis) and gets the higher calorie hind milk.

Lullaby CD: To help sooth the little one. We made this CD part of Asher’s nightly routine and whenever he hears it, he knows it’s time to wind down and go to bed.

A Daddy Gift: Don’t leave Dad out. He deserves a little something nice too. I included Peanut Butter cookies, because this Dad LOVES them and dark chocolate covered espresso beans because he’s really into coffee and the caffeine doesn’t hurt either when you have a newborn.

I also sent some coupons that I didn’t need and thought she may be able to use. Babies are pricey y’all!

Here are some more ideas of things that you could include in a postpartum care package:

Nursing pads

A nice bedside carafe or water bottle

Sitz bath salts or herbs

Fenugreek capsules

Mother’s milk tea

Breast heating/cooling pads

C-Panty Incision Care Panty -For moms who have had a c-section

Nursing tank tops

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Midwives Milk Production Power and Comfort Cookies Recipe

2 c whole wheat pastry flour (regular whole wheat ok too)

1 cup oats

½ cup ground flax seeds

½ cup nutritional yeast (not baker’s yeast but the yellow flakes)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter softened

1 cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 organic eggs

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts

Mix up the dry, add to the creamed wet and bake at 350 until golden.